Supreme Court quashed the 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) allowing ex post facto environmental clearances
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Supreme Court quashes 2021 order on ex post facto environmental clearances, but upholds Centre’s power to provide ‘amnesty schemes’
The Supreme Court quashed the 2021 Office Memorandum that allowed ex post facto environmental clearances, ruling it violated the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the precautionary principle. The Court upheld the Centre's power to grant amnesty schemes for past violations but restrained it from issuing future administrative orders for ex post facto clearances. The judgment applies prospectively to avoid disrupting ongoing projects. This ruling strengthens environmental governance and judicial oversight over executive environmental decisions.
Source: The Hindu. This summary and analysis are AI-written from that report and are not individually fact-checked — confirm names, dates and figures with the source before you rely on them.
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Key points
Exam-ready takeaways
The Court held the 2021 OM violated the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the precautionary principle under environmental law
The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra
The Court upheld the Centre's legislative power to frame amnesty schemes for past environmental violations through proper legal process
The ruling applies prospectively to avoid disruption to ongoing projects that obtained clearances under the 2021 OM
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